TIP OF THE HELMET TO: Engine 48, Ladder 56, Division 7 for hosting the

Memorial Day Collation. There was an excellent turnout for the Memorial

Day Ceremony on Riverside Drive. Never Forget!

711 EAST 183 STREET, BRONX: The May 28, 1982 day tour

was a routine day in the Belmont section of the Bronx. It was late Spring and the

warmth of the day indicated that Summer was not far off. At approximately 1630

hours, Engine 88, Ladder 38, Engine 48, Ladder 56 and Battalion 18 responded to a

pull box alarm, Box 3304, at the Northwest corner of East 183 Street and Crotona

Avenue. This was a chronic false alarm box. Units arrived, conducted their

investigation, and transmitted a 10-92. At 1707 hours, box 3304 was transmitted

again. As units responded, they could see that this time, the scene would be very

different.

Engine 88 was commanded by Captain Timothy Gallagher. Also working in Engine

88 that tour was Fr. Joe Brosi, Fr. Joe Principio, Fr. Joe Meliti, Fr. Pete Brower, and

Fr. Jim Sideris.

Engine 88 arrived at 1709 hours. As

Engine 88 pulled up, they saw there

was a structural fire at 711 E. 183

Street (exposure 1 side). The fire was

on the third floor of the 4 story brick

and wood joist old law tenement. The

building was a corner building with

the short side of the tenement facing Crotona Avenue (exposure 4 side). Capt.

Gallagher transmitted a 10-75.

Ladder 56 was the 2nd due Truck and was commanded by Captain Tom Kennedy.

As they left their firehouse and turned

the corner onto E. 187 Street, they could

see the sky was filled with black smoke

in the direction of Box 3304. As Engine

88 pulled up to the building, Capt.

Gallagher saw a face in a window of the

fire apartment, and then the face

disappeared. Recognizing that the

person in that window was in imminent

peril, he ordered his Firefighters to

stretch a hand line to the 3rd floor via the

interior stairway as he headed toward

the fire escape on the E. 183 Street side

of the building. Capt. Gallagher climbed

on a wrought iron fence and scaled the

drop ladder to reach the 2nd floor

balcony of the fire escape.

Photo by Fr. Chris Roberto E48

He dashed up the fire escape and made it to the fire apartment window that was

served by the fire escape.

Upon arrival at the 3rd floor fire escape balcony, Capt. Gallagher entered the fire

apartment. The smoke condition in

the apartment was heavy. Captain

Gallagher was forced to operate on

his knees. As he was searching for

the missing girl, he noticed that fire

had complete hold of the rear

bedroom and the living room. The

fire was encroaching on the hallway

of the fire apartment.

After searching the room off the fire

escape, Captain Gallagher found the

trapped occupant. It was 18 year-old Aracelis Santiago. Ms. Santiago was

conscious but terrified. Ms. Santiago was mentally handicapped. Capt. Gallagher

had to crawl under the growing fire in order to reach Ms. Santiago. As he reached

Ms. Santiago, Capt. Gallagher could feel strength

leaving his body. The heat and smoke were

taking its toll on him. Ms. Santiago was 200

pounds and in a state of panic. This made it

difficult to effect the rescue. Captain Gallagher

knew that time was slipping away for both of

them.

The Firefighters of Engine 88 made it to the fire

floor with their 1 ¾ inch hand line. As they

arrived, they saw building occupants trying to

kick open the apartment door. They succeeded

in kicking in a panel on the lower half of the

wooden apartment door.

Inside the apartment, Capt. Gallagher could hear

the civilians kicking the apartment door.

Photo by Fr. Chris Roberto

E48

Photo by Fr. Phil Pillet L56

Capt. Gallagher started dragging Ms. Santiago towards

the door. As they were getting closer to the apartment

door, the apartment flashed over. Fire was now over their

heads as the fire rapidly expanded. Ms. Santiago

panicked, broke free from Capt. Gallagher, and headed

back toward the interior of the apartment. Despite being

near exhaustion and already burned, he had to go back

toward the fire to try to rescue Ms. Santiago from the

terrible heat. At that time, Ladder 38 forced open the

apartment door and pulled Capt. Gallagher out into the

hallway.

Ladder 38 was arrived about one minute after Engine 88.

They were commanded by the legendary Lieutenant Leo

Fracassi. Lieut. Fracassi L-38 took his Forcible Entry Team

Photo by Fr. James Murphy

Photo by Fr. Chris Roberto E48

into the burning apartment to find Ms. Santiago. They were making a determined

search under extreme conditions. They could not find Ms. Aracelis Santiago.

Battalion Chief Joseph Short of the 18th Battalion arrived at 1712 hours. He saw fire

blowing out of all four windows on the Crotona Avenue side of the building and one

window on the E. 183 Street side of the building on the third floor. Deputy Chief

Vincent Dunn of Division 7 arrived at 1718 hours. After a quick consultation with

B.C. Short, he transmitted the “All Hands” for 7-5-3304.

Fr. Joe Brosi E-88 had the Nozzle. When Capt. Gallagher was taken out into the

public hallway, Capt. Gallagher told him that the victim needed rescue

immediately. The forcible entry team from Ladder 38 could not find Ms. Santiago.

Ladder 56, the 2nd due Truck, arrived at the 3rd floor landing and Capt. Kennedy

noted the conditions. He saw Capt. Gallagher on the floor badly burned. He took

the Forcible Entry Team of Ladder 56 to the top floor. They made entry to the

apartment directly above the fire and found a light haze. L-56’s Outside Vent

Firefighter called his Captain and told him that the apartment not directly over the

fire apartment was heavily charged with smoke and there were 8-9 people huddled

in the apartment not wanting to leave.

Ladder 38 positioned their

aerial ladder on the E. 183 St.

Side of the fire building. It

was a spare apparatus and

was not working properly.

They had difficulty in raising

the aerial ladder. However, it

eventually was placed at the

top floor to help in the

removal of the trapped

occupants. Fr. Vinny

Albanese L-38 and Fr. Tom Sidor L-38 removed some of the occupants via aerial

ladder. Ladder 56 removed the remainder of the trapped occupants from the top

floor via the interior stairway.

Photo by Fr. James Murphy

When Captain Gallagher heard that Ladder 38’s Forcible Entry team could not find

Ms. Santiago, he summoned whatever strength he had left and he re-entered the

fire apartment. Conditions in the apartment were extreme. Captain Gallagher was

able to find Ms. Santiago in the kitchen of the apartment. But now, Captain

Gallagher needed help to get Ms. Santiago out of the apartment. Fr. Joe Brosi E-88

passed the nozzle to Fr. Joe Principio of E-88. Fr. Brosi met up with Capt. Gallagher

and he and Lieutenant Fracassi helped remove Ms. Santiago and Captain Gallagher.

Fr. Principio advanced the nozzle onto the fire. In so doing, he had to lay prone on

the floor to tolerate the heat. It was 1718 hours and the 10-45 was transmitted.

At 1720 hours, the 10-45 code 2 was transmitted by D.C. Dunn.

Photo by Fr. James Murphy

Engine 48 arrived as the 2nd due Engine

Company. They stretched the second

hose line to the floor above the fire (4th

floor). This hose line was used to

extinguish fire extending within the

walls to the top floor. Ladder 58 was

special called as an additional truck on

the 10-75. Their bucket was used to

remove Ms. Santiago from the third

floor to the street.

The Bureau of Fire Investigation

investigated the cause of the fire. It was

determined that a 5-year old started the

fire on the stove and tried to hide it

under a bed.

Ms. Aracelis Santiago would later

succumb to her injuries days after the

fire. Captain Timothy Gallagher was

removed to Jacobi Hospital and later the Cornell Burn Center by Rescue 3. He was

hospitalized for two weeks with burns. He received a “Class I” award and the “Hugh

Bonner Medal” for his actions on May 28, 1982. He was the “Daily News Hero of

the Month” for May 1982.

The speed, aggressiveness and the tenacity of Captain Timothy Gallagher is

legendary. Those who witnessed this act of extreme courage and heroism are able

to describe it with great detail. It is firmly embedded in their memory. Nicknames

in the Fire Service are very often telling. Captain Timothy Gallagher’s nickname was

“Tough Timmy.” There may not be a more appropriate nickname ever assigned.

God Bless Tim Gallagher.

Thanks to Captain Joe Principio L-58, D.C. Vincent Dunn (Ret.), Lieut. Joe Brosi (Ret.), D.C. Tom

Kennedy (Ret.) Fr. James Murphy (Ret., Photographs), the FDNY Fire Records Unit, and Fr. Chris

Roberto E-48 for their contributions to this essay.

Photo courtesy of NY Daily News

Author’s Note: Captain Timothy Gallagher was appointed

in 1965. He was cited for heroism on 10 previous occasions.

He served his country as a U.S. Marine before joining the

FDNY. He organized the first FDNY Hockey Team.

Author’s Note: Lieutenant Leo

Fracassi joined the FDNY on

January 1, 1947. Prior to joining

the FDNY, he served under

General George Patton in the 3rd

Army, 11th Armored Division European Theater of

Operations during World War II. He was awarded the

Purple Heart and the European Campaign Medal with 3

battle stars. He was awarded a “Class II” award, a “Class

III award”, the Mayor LaGuardia Medal, the Thomas E.

Crimmins Medal, a “Class A” award and a “Class B”

award while on the FDNY. He is the oldest recipient of

the “Daily News Hero of the Month Award” for June 1984.

When entering a window from a ladder or a fire escape for an uncontrolled fire,

remove the entire window. If conditions rapidly deteriorate, you want to be able

to escape without your SCBA getting hung up on part of the window. “You want a

whole hole to get out of, not a half a hole.” Rollover is a precursor to flashover. It

appears as sporadic flashes of flame in the smoke near an opening (door, window,

etc.). There is a better air mixture at these openings which causes the flash of fire.

This is an indicator that flashover is about to occur. Rollover can trap firefighters,

i.e.: when Rollover occurs at a trap door to a cellar, the flame from the rollover will

fill the cellar opening. Rollover is one of the many things the firefighter at the door

is looking for.

Flashover takes place after rollover. It is the sudden ignition of the fire gases within

an area. “Flashover signals the end of any effective search or rescue operation: it

signals the death of any trapped victim or firefighter inside the blazing room: it

signals the end of portable extinguisher use as a means of fire control—a hose

line is now required to contain the blaze: it signals the beginning of a structural

collapse danger: it signals the end of the growth stage of the fire.” Safety and

Survival on the Fire Ground, by Vincent Dunn, 1st ed., pp. 57

When flashover occurs with Firefighters inside, there is limited time for those

directly exposed. If is generally accepted that a Firefighter can crawl 5 feet to safety

when a flashover occurs. If the Firefighter has his/her personal protective

equipment (PPE) on improperly, the 5 foot figure is reduced.

There are three phases of fire growth in traditional fire behavior. The growth (or

incipient stage), the fully developed phase, and the decay stage. Once flashover

happens, the fire is now in the fully developed phase. Rollover occurs near the end

of the growth stage. The fire can move into the decay stage by fire department

extinguishment, reduction of available oxygen or reduction in fuel available to

burn.

There are no silver bullets in relation to ventilation and flashover. For example:

You can prevent flashover by performing vertical ventilation to prevent heat build-

up. Or, you can prevent flashover by not performing horizontal ventilation in a fire

that is near flashover to starve it of oxygen. If you are in a position to vent, you

must be able to predict what the effect of the ventilation will be. You must take

into account the wind, the stage of the fire, if the fire is confined, and if the hose

line is in place and has water.

When a Firefighter becomes lost or disoriented, this is usually the first event to

being trapped by a flashover. In order to prevent being disoriented, have a search

plan, do a size-up before entering a fire area. If the fire area is a large area, utilize

a search rope and use “team search” procedures to make this tactic safer. Make

good use of the Thermal Imaging Camera. Try to get an apartment layout by

looking at floor level before the hose line is opened up.

The normal oxygen supply in air is 21%. At fires, once the oxygen supply in a fire

area drops below 17%, there is a noticeable change in the perception and behavior

of trapped occupants. The reduced oxygen supply combined with the inhalation of

products of combustion impairs physical coordination and judgment.

A common human behavior at fires is “ambiguity reduction.” When people are

under stress at fires, they seek to find uncomplicated ways of resolving their

problems. They tend to do things they are familiar with to reduce the stress at a

fire. This is what prompts children to stay in their rooms, hide under beds, or hide

in closets rather than flee their home or apartment at a fire. This human behavior

was shown when Ms. Santiago escaped from Capt. Gallagher and retreated back

into her apartment. Another example of this behavior is common at hotel fires.

Hotel guests have been known to stay in their rooms rather than trying to escape

the fire.

Another common human behavior at fires is “altruistic behavior.” When

presented with a high-anxiety situation (such as a fire), it produces an increased

need for affiliation. Those who are in fire emergencies want to be with others and

be able to communicate with them. Fire victims tend to gather together and seek

refuge in rooms until they received instructions that it was safe to evacuate. This

behavior was exhibited at the fire at 711 E. 183 Street by the group of 8-9 people

who were clustered together on the floor above the fire, not wanting to leave. This

is known as a “convergence cluster.” These “clusters” serve to reduce the anxiety

and stress in individuals in a threatening situation (such as a fire).

The Command Priorities at fires are: 1) Protection of life (civilian and Firefighter),

2) Fire Containment, 3) Property Protection.

All FDNY Firefighters have been issued personal

harnesses. The hook of the personal harness is

large enough to hook onto the rung of an aerial

ladder or portable ladder. If

operating on one of these

ladders, use the hook of the

personal harness to secure

yourself.

When climbing down an aerial ladder or portable ladder, always face the ladder. If

you are facing the ladder and you lose your footing, you will fall into the ladder. If

facing away from the ladder and you lose your footing, you can fall off the ladder.

The order of priority for removal of fire victims is: 1) Interior Stairway 2) Horizontal

Exits 3) Fire Escapes 4) Fire Department Ladders 5) Life Saving Rope.

When climbing standard fire escapes, do not place your foot in the center of the

step. Place your foot near the stringer and make sure the step can support your

weight. The most common type of fire escape collapse is step failure.

When climbing a standard fire escape ladder, always face the ladder.

When releasing a fire escape drop ladder, stand under the balcony. If the drop

ladder comes out of its tracks, the one area it will not fall towards is under the

balcony.

When re-setting a fire escape drop ladder, gain access to the lowest balcony by

portable ladder or via an apartment that is served by that fire escape. Do not climb

down a drop ladder and jump to the sidewalk after just re-setting the drop ladder.

References: Safety and Survival on the Fireground, 1st ed., By Vincent Dunn; Fire-Related Human Behavior,

National Fire Academy, 1989.

October 21, 2015, a New York City police officer was fatally shot in a gunfight Tuesday

night near FDR Drive in East Harlem. That officer was Officer Randolph Holder, 33, who died

shortly after at Harlem Hospital, Police Commissioner William Bratton said. The suspect in the

shooting, 30-year-old Tyrone Howard, was then taken into custody.

“He was killed in the line of duty, murdered,” Bratton said. “Tonight, he did what every other

officer in the NYPD does, when the call comes, he ran toward danger. It was the last time he will

respond to that call.”

Holder was a native of Guyana and a five-year veteran of the NYPD.